


Realm of Possibilities

by VerityJade



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:29:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21832963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VerityJade/pseuds/VerityJade
Summary: Changing the past isn't possible, but screwing up the future could be, and for more than one possibility. Could they all be happy in the end? Team 7 is back, spreading friendship and fixing Sasuke's mistakes...not much has changed. Not cannon, multiple ships, I don't own Naruto.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first try at writing anything. The first chapter is short, its a work in progress.

Sasuke sat down hard, shocked into complete silence even in his usually overactive mind. The minutes crept by but he just sat there staring around him. _What have I done?_ He'd left the village to seek his own redemption but in the end he might have damned them all.

Sakura stood at the gate, eyes shining with tears that he knew would fall when he turned away from her. He wasn't entirely sure why he had told her she should move into the compound that day, or why he told her to stay there while he was gone. She had grown and had always tried to do what was best for the village and for him. A part of him felt that he owed it to her to try but he still turned and walked away. _Why am I so fucked up? I can't be anything for her, why lead her on? I'm a selfish asshole, that's why._ In his heart he knew he would never be the man she needed but he also didn't want her to look at anyone else the same way she looked at him. He told her to stay and told her to wait, implying he would return and they would be together. He knew it was a lie and a part of him also knew that eventually she would stop waiting.

He was still obsessed with power and he couldn't just let it go. His entire identity was wrapped up in getting stronger, being the best. He left the village, yes to seek redemption, but also to learn. The rinnegan now in his possession he wanted to learn all he could about its capabilities. Kaguya was beyond powerful and he knew that if he wanted to he would surpass her. Her dimensional travel was more than a curiosity, after having been trapped in her realms it had become an obsession eating away at his mind. Could he also have this power? Could there be more to it?

The years passed and he eventually did figure out how to get to those realms. But it wasn't enough. The search for more power was never ending. Those realms held nothing for him in the end, yes he could occupy them or trap other beings, but it was meaningless. With a power to travel dimensions, he should be able to do more. The old anger was creeping back in because he felt so useless. He'd traced every scrap of information about Kaguya and her clan, the tree, all of it but he knew he was missing something. _Its really too bad we got rid of Zetsu because that little parasite probably knew all her secrets. Fuck, how could I have been so careless._ It was then that he realized the something he was missing. He shouldn't be looking for Kaguya, he should be searching for any traces left behind from when Zetsu was corrupting Obito.

He felt like all the air had been sucked from around him as the dust settled and he understood what he was seeing, the God tree. He stepped forward and his foot hit something hard on the ground, looking down he saw the faded cloth of a headband. Reaching for it he flipped it over and saw the leaf village insignia, the etching a dull brown from blood that had dried there. The small cocoons that he knew to contain his friends and the rest of the village swaying gently in the breeze. It was a chilling sight to behold. _We didn't lose. What happened here? Where is Kaguya?_ Sasuke was tense as he ventured closer to the tree, careful to stay low. There was hardly any vegetation and he saw no living beings of any kind. He could feel the chakra radiating off the tree and was nervous about being in such close proximity to it lest he get caught by its branches. All traces of battle were gone as far as he could tell, the terrain wasn't broken as it was at the end of the war in their world. _Had there even been a fight? How did we lose?_ He couldn't detect Kaguya at all which was both good and also worrying. She was obviously comfortable enough in her win that she didn't keep guard at the tree. He was curious, but his sense of self preservation won out in the end and he made the decision to come back to this another time.

Leaving that world behind this time he concentrated on the trip and landed in between the worlds, the plane of possibilities. Everywhere he looked were doorways to other worlds that were going on all around him in their own universes. He was truly in awe of how small he was in the larger picture for the first time in his had been entirely distracted with his thoughts, assuming she had left the tree unguarded had been over confident on his part, a grave mistake. Black Zetsu had watched him pop into existence over the plane, if he'd been inclined to facial expressions he would have narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the figure. It had been years since a human presence had been seen on this world, much less close to the tree. If he had to guess from the mans appearance, he didn't belong here, and was therefore dangerous to his mistresses. Granted, she was almost done draining this world of its life like all the others, but this man he seemed full of power, full of chakra, and full of himself.

Black Zetsu stayed in the shadow of the tree and sneaked closer and closer to Sasuke who was entirely unaware of his presence, obviously assuming the chakra he felt was only belonging to the tree. He watched as Sasuke inched closer to get a better look and he could see the recognition in his eyes. _How does this man know? Just where is he from?_ He saw the rinnegan, and saw possibilities before him. This man could not be left by himself, Black Zetsu knew his mistress would miss him greatly here, but it was obvious this intruder knew something and could take him to other places, potentially he could steal this information and tell Kaguya. The plan was still forming in his mind when he noticed the figure sigh, slightly tense, and could tell the man was about to leave. As Sasuke closed his eyes Zetsu saw his opening and swooped into the shadow of Sasuke's traveling cloak, this was too easy.

Sasuke stood in the endless expanse. He could see the universe he was just at, the portal shimmer in front of him, if he concentrated on it the image would move for him. He could focus in on the tree, watch what was going on in that world. _This is absolutely the most incredible thing I've ever done._ He was giddy with his discovery, which was an odd feeling for him, he longed for someone to tell to share this with. _Itachi_. He turned in a rush to get to another shimmering portal. _What other possibilities are out there? Could I find a world that hasn't been destroyed, where my childhood wasn't destroyed? Could I be happy?_ Zetsu was struck by the amazing luck he was having and didn't move with Sasuke. He was left out in the open when the man rushed off, stunned at his quickness. _This man is obviously a highly skilled ninja, but what is he doing? Could I use him?_ And so Zetsu decided to let himself be seen, he slid to a nearby portal just in the mans range of sight to let him become aware of his presence, and then he waited.

Sasuke looked into another shimmer, it was obviously Konoha he was looking at, it didn't look much different from his Konoha. He wondered how the focusing worked, _maybe I need to think of someone_ , and so he concentrated on himself. The portal flickered and soon he saw himself, in not just the village but inside a full and bustling Uchiha compound. He gasped and fell backwards, the pain in his chest surprisingly sharp and tight. _I'm in the compound. No one has been murdered. I wasn't alone._ The feelings washed over him overwhelming everything, and that's when the shadow caught his eye. Zetsu had been startled by the mans sudden reaction to that portal and while he was intending to be seen, he would have preferred a different introduction.

"You!" Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the sight of Black Zetsu."Me? I don't believe we've been acquainted," he smoothly replied. _Obviously this pompous ass knows me, damn. I won't be able to use him._ "How are you here?""How are you here?" Black Zetsu wasn't going to tell him anything. His form shifted a little closer to the shimmer he was next to."I'm not fucking around, you will answer me!" Sasuke yelled jumping to his feet. It was all he could do to remain calm, and even then he was already raising his voice."You know, I don't believe I care to know someone as rude as you," Zetsu smirked at him and slid right into the portal he was next to.

Sasuke rushed over to the portal, panic washed over his body as he concentrated on Black Zetsu. He saw the creep, but he was just sitting in a cave. _Clearly he knows I'm watching him. Fuck me._

How could I have been so stupid? He sat down, contemplating all of his many failures. _What reality is that?_ He rushed back over to the portal and looked at it again. Tsunade was the Hokage, Naruto was still with Jiraiya, Sakura was at the hospital, this reality didn't seem awfully different. _Where is Itachi? Where am I?_ He scanned it again concentrating on his brother. Akatsuki. This reality hasn't had their war yet. Do I warn them? Fuck, what am I in this reality? And so he found himself, still with Orochimaru. _Damnit, I can't just rush in there, they won't listen to me. I have to go back and tell them what I found, and then explain what I've done. Fuck. So much for redemption._ He wandered around a bit more before going to his worlds portal. He looked at it and concentrated. _Sakura_. The portal shimmered and changed, she was walking with grocery bags in her arms. She looked well, the sun was shining on her face and she was smiling while she talked. He looked next to her and realized she wasn't alone, Kakashi was walking with her carrying more bags. _Where are they going? She looks happy_. He barely breathed as he watched them walk the familiar path, not to the compound, but to her old home. _When did she go back to her house? I didn't even know she'd kept it. How long have I been gone this time? Fuck, its been over a year hasn't it?_ He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He was bothered, but he didn't entirely understand his emotions. He glanced back at the world where the Uchiha clan had thrived. I'll be back. And with that thought he stepped through to return home with his grim news.


	2. Chapter 2

The war was over, it had been for ten years now, and she should have been happy. Her entire childhood she had wanted to be successful, recognized for her skill, wanted to be loved by one man, and yet with all of that staring her in the face, she felt she was a lie. He didn’t love her and she learned she loved the idea of him more than the man himself. Her life was utterly empty, her accomplishments seemed hollow in the face of her biggest failure. But, there was still time to change, take control of her life and change it. She slammed her fist on the counter and stormed out after throwing some bills at the bartender. She was Sakura Haruno. She was better than what she had let herself become.  
Ignoring the downpour, she charged out into the street letting the rain wash over her as she walked home. He wouldn’t even be there. Her nightly drinking routine went entirely unnoticed because he was yet again, gone. Ten years she wasted waiting on Sasuke, wasted because she had nothing to show for herself. She watched him leave the village on his mission of redemption thinking maybe the next time he returned would be for good, that he would finally feel he had done enough and would stay with her, build a life with her. She learned over time that he had no concern where she was involved. He would return in the middle of the night, uncaring how she needed him to be a better man.  
She passed the training grounds and slipped inside an unoccupied lot. Sakura wasn’t necessarily drunk, but she was buzzed enough to not be able to focus her chakra. She slammed an uncharged fist into the nearest tree without the slightest flinch as bark and bits of wood flew around her. Her knuckles cracked, the skin atop them bleeding. Flexing her hand she numbly looked down as the blood slipped down her fingers and splashed onto the dirt.  
Kakashi had followed her from the bar. He followed her home every night. It wasn’t that she couldn’t take care of herself, he just felt like he had failed her. Sure, Sasuke had come home to the village and pretended to make a life with her, but he never changed, never learned how to open himself up to love. It was yet another notch in his long list of failures, his guilt squeezing his chest daily to the point it was unable to breathe at times. He watched her face, the rain running down it made it impossible to tell if she was crying, yet the small trembling of her shoulders showed she must be.  
She wasn’t crying though. Laughter escaped her mouth and she realized she probably sounded crazy, she knew she looked it. Standing by herself in the middle of the training grounds alone, bleeding, and just laughing soaked to the bone. Shaking her head and still laughing to herself she turned around to leave and caught the flash of silver on Kakashi’s headband.  
“What are you doing here?” She manages to cough out, trying to stifle her laughter lest he think she’s totally lost it.  
“I could ask you the same thing.” He casually replies, as if they aren’t both standing out in the rain. “You know you’re bleeding, right?”  
“Its just a scratch, I’ll heal it later” she states as she shrugs it off.  
He looks at her curiously, “Would you like some company?”  
She looks at the sky and the rain seemed to be slowing up. _Would she like some company? Isn’t that the question?_ She stares, willing herself to feel something other than empty. The throbbing in her hand is slowly starting to bother her, two busted knuckles a least and it’ll need attention sooner rather than later. The alcohol is mostly gone and the pain in her chest is threatening to consume her again.  
Kakashi just watches her struggle with her thoughts. It seems like forever before she sighs and looks at him. If he wasn’t so practiced with masking his emotions the look on her face would have caused him to show concern on his own. _She’s too young to be this broken._ _Her eyes are just complete sadness. I’ve failed her too._ The weight in his chest feels like it may crush him soon.  
She sees a slight flicker in his eyes and nods her head without fully intending to. “Walk me home. Its raining still and you don’t have your face in your book, can you even find your way around?” The joke comes out of her mouth before she has time to consider, her face flushes in embarrassment. _Why am I embarrassed? We almost died together during the war, its Kakashi, why can’t we be friends? Goodness knows we both need that after everything._  
He can feel his cheeks burning. _Did she really just say that to me?_ He coughs slightly, “Dangerous for me to be out, huh? What about you, assaulting poor defenseless trees? What would Yamato think?”  
Her full laughter makes his eyes crinkle in a smile she knows is under the mask. “I got nothin,” she says, still chuckling to herself.  
“Let’s go get you cleaned up,” he says as he gives her a mock bow toward the gate.  
They walk next to each other in silence. Instead of turning toward the compound though she walks the other way. He’s momentarily confused until he realizes she’s heading toward her old apartment. _This is new. I didn’t realize she kept her old place after moving in with Sauske._ She walks up the path to the gate which has gone rusty in its neglect over the past several years. Grunting as she forces it open and goes to her planter full of dead weeds. The spare key is where she left it, under the ugliest lawn gnome in existence. Unlocking the door, she opens it and turns the lights on, taking in all the dust that collected over her past life.  
“I can’t go back there.”  
He nods slowly, understanding. _She’s finally had enough then, she’s finally going to move on._

A heavy layer of dust covers everything, she frowns, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have invited your over when everything in my life is apparently such a mess. I thought it would be nice to make you some tea for your help walking me home but,” she shrugs gesturing at everything.  
She can tell he’s smiling at her again, “It was no trouble at all, just aiming to save some trees,” he laughs.  
“Ha! I had no idea you were so concerned for the wellbeing of our landscaping,” she replies over her shoulder as she heads toward the kitchen to wash off her bloodied hand.  
“Well, where else am I going to hide from everyone and read?” He asks with mock innocence.  
“Ah, I see, so not entirely selfless there in actions then are you?” She smiles at him, truly smiling for the first time in far too long. _It feels good to smile. To joke around with someone. I shouldn’t have to walk on eggshells in a place that was supposed to be my home as well._  
The thoughts swirl bitterly in her head and she turns away from him. “If you could do everything over, knowing how things happened, would you?” Her voice is almost a whisper as the question leaves her mouth.  
He is caught entirely off guard by the question. Pain flashes uncontrolled for a second across his face as he remembers his team, his failures, and he’s glad she isn’t facing him. “I don’t actually know. All those lessons, failures, mistakes, the pain, it all makes us who we are in the end. It makes us stronger than we were the day before because we prevailed in the end.” He looks down at his hands, “We won the war, we saved the world, what if we changed something and lost that reality forever? There’s no guarantee that we’d have the happy ending, we should make the best of the days we have now. Live this life. As much as I’d love to see my friends again, if things changed for the worse in the end I don’t know if I could live with myself knowing it was my fault.”  
She hadn’t looked at it like that. “Thank you, Kakashi. You’re right, as usual,” she sighs, “I just expected so much more. I’d expected to be happy when I got all the things I wanted when I was younger. I should have been more specific,” she laughs weakly.  
 _I guess its time to heal my hand, maybe stop trying to drink away my issues and actually act like an adult._  
A green glow envelopes her hand as she heals the latest of her mistakes.  
“Well. Its pretty late and I should probably head home. If you need anything, please just let me know,” he says awkwardly looking down at her. “You do know you’re not alone, right?”   
The glow fades from her hand and she clenches her fist experimentally. “I’m always alone,” she whispers mostly to herself. A single tear escapes and falls onto her fist, “Always.”  
His face is completely blank. _What has Sasuke done to her? She used to be so passionate about everything, its like her fire has gone out._ The pause is becoming awkward but he doesn’t know how to respond. “Do you want me to stay?” he asks quietly.  
“No! No, please, I’m sorry! I’m fine, just tired, too much sake. I’m sorry to have burdened you, really,” she says this all very quickly in embarrassment, “I’m just going to clean up around here, really boring stuff. You’ve already been such a big help please don’t let me keep you any longer.”  
“Okay, I’ll see you around then, take care, Sakura,” and then he was gone.  
She stares at the spot he had occupied going over the things he had said. _This can’t be it, can it? Is this really how things are supposed to be? Then again, Kakashi wouldn’t have fought so hard for us if he hadn’t experienced true loss when he was younger. Naruto wouldn’t have grown into the man he is, the wonderful future Hokage, Husband and Father, if he hadn’t had all that pain in his childhood. I know I wouldn’t have been pushed as much if I hadn’t wanted to not be the weak link in our team, not be such a failure._  
 _This feeling, this is what I need to hold onto. If Sasuke won’t look beyond his issues and try to move past them to have a life here, with me, I’m going to stop trying to force it. It isn’t fair to either of us that I’m trying to force him to be something he clearly doesn’t have the capacity to be right now, or ever really. Who am I kidding other than myself?_  
 _I’m done waiting. Ten years has been long enough._  
She looked around her home and sighed. There was a lot of cleaning to be done if she wanted a bed to sleep on that wasn’t covered in a blanket of dust.

Kakashi stared at his front door with no intentions of opening it He turned suddenly and headed back out into the rain which had started up again. Walking slowly, he was entirely soaked again by the time he made it to the stone. After that short conversation with Sakura he was troubled, and when he was troubled his friends always helped him work it out.  
Obito and Rin were no longer standing with him but he knew they were there regardless. He spent hours just staring at the names when he was younger, wishing with all his soul he could go back and change things. When the pain was fresh, it was all he could think about. He’d wake up night after night reliving her death over and over. He could still feel her body pulsing around his wrist as her essence left it. Was there some way he could have done anything different to save her?  
After the fight with his team against Kaguya, his reunion with Obito, and his friends redemption, thankfully the nightmares had subsided. He was finally at peace. He had died and eventually helped save the world, but more than anything he knew his friends didn’t hate him for the choices he had made. Kakashi finally felt he had lived a worthy life. But now, seeing the pain Sakura was in, the questions started fresh in his mind. _Could you change the past without destroying all of this future? Gah, I’d hate to do that final fight again, we barely made it the first time._  
It had been ten years and he thought for sure that would have been enough time for Sasuke to see he had a new family, not only with Sakura but all of team seven. The idiot stayed away though, coming back once or twice a year for no more than a few days before heading away again. Kakashi just could not fathom why he would do that when he had already been pardoned for his crimes, and more than atoned for them when he helped defeat Kaguya. Sakura had been more than willing to put up with his bullshit for so long, being ignored year after year, with no indication he would ever even come around. _I don’t know how she stayed waiting for so long for him, he tried to kill her and she still forgave him._  
He shook his head.  
 _What would you do Obito?_ He quietly pleaded with his friend. _What lengths would you have gone to to save everyone?_ He knew what the man had done when he let his hate and jealousy corrupt him, sought revenge on the world in a way that was staggering in its enormity. If their places had been switched, would Kakashi have done the same? He hadn’t loved Rin like that though, honestly no one to that extent, so it was a moot point to question. He had loved team 7 though, and he could see himself doing whatever he could to give them a happy ending that took him what felt like a lifetime to earn. He scoffed at that thought though. _Yea I made peace with my Father and was able to see Rin and Obito in that realm again, I know forgiveness, but what am I doing with my life now?_  
He’d told Tsunade that he would not be training a new team, she could just consider him retired from that right off. He took missions here and there when the need called for him but in their peace time it was few and far between that it was necessary. Tsunade had unsuccessfully tried to hand over the Hokage title to him but he’d repeatedly managed to dodge that bullet. He’d taken a slacker job at the academy helping to train upcoming students. He felt fulfilled at least in that regard. But, he was finally realizing how much it sucked to come home night after night to an empty home.  
Naruto and Hinata had a wonderful life and he was beyond happy for them. They insisted he come to dinner at least once a week on top of team 7 Friday night dinners. The more he went to those dinners the more he saw that Sakura was just turning into a shell of her former self. He could see the light in her eyes go out a little more each day and it was honestly killing him to watch her try and put on a happy face for everyone.  
As surprising as it was to learn that she drank herself numb every night, it shouldn’t have been. Tsunade was her teacher after all and that woman drank her sake like water to deal with her many losses in life. What could he do about it though? Track Sasuke down and slap some sense into him? Kakashi honestly didn’t think that Sasuke was ever going to be the man that Sakura needed though and it pained him more than a little to think of him coming back for good. He’d been selfish as a teen, running around ignoring those who desperately wanted to help him while he was hell bent on revenge. He and Naruto had nearly killed one another in the end, and he said he saw the error of his ways. It just didn’t make sense to Kakashi that Sasuke’s logic was to leave the village and continue to ignore all those who wanted to help him and especially love him.  
Her words stuck with him. _Did she really think she was always alone? How could I have ignored her when she’s obviously hurting? I’ve been selfish, and that needs to change. I have to do something because I can’t let her lose herself in a depression the same way that I did. I have to show her that she isn’t alone if she doesn’t want to be._


	3. Chapter  3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We begin delving into the other realms of possibility

She was soaking wet and staring at her reflection in the bathroom that she had been given.  
 _Who am I? What is my purpose now?_  
She looked behind her to the bedroom, her gear was laying out on the bed ready to go for her first mission as a member of ANBU.  
 _I’m still just a killer._ She sighed. _Nothings changed. My cage has nicer walls but I still have no purpose besides a tool for this village._ A small part of her was thankful that nothing changed, so she went with that.

Kakashi stood up from the spot he’d been crouched in and took a second to stretch out his legs. His ANBU gear still fit him as if he had never taken it off all those years ago. This mission was important to the village, but more so as a test of this girl. He’d been watching her, trying to get a handle on her, he was to ascertain if she was fit for reintegration into the village and if she could work properly on a team. Tsunade had told him little of her other than that this girl was stronger than she was, had been trained as a weapon, and was the most efficient assassin that had been part of Root.  
He knew little of Root as a whole, but he was aware that Danzo had planned to use it to take over leadership of the village. Danzo hadn’t taken into account that not all of his carefully crafted weapons might still have a mind of their own. It had been because of this girl that his plans had failed, and she was being given a chance to prove that she really did put the village before all else.  
She was getting dressed now, strapping her armor over her arms and chest with precision. The white stood out in the moonlight, her hair looked lavender against the ANBU uniform but he knew that it was actually a pastel pink. She kept it short, and as he watched she carefully pulled it back into a tight ponytail. Clearly she wanted nothing in her way when she was doing her work. She pulled the fingerless gloves on, tightening them at the wrists, and then strapped the sword onto her back. She turned to look in the mirror again, she’d never get used to seeing herself looking back. Mirrors were not a thing in her old living arrangements, it was unsettling to her to have so many now.  
Kakashi adjusted his ANBU mask on his face knowing it was almost time for proper introductions. He took a breath ready to head out when the space next to him flickered and she was there. She had her mask on already as she stood tall, staring at him. Thankful for his mask that hid his surprise, he met her stare. He wasn’t aware that she knew he was there, watching her, he’d been masking his chakra as usual and she had given no indication at all while she was dressing that she was uncomfortable with the idea of someone seeing her.  
He brushed all those unanswered questions away from his mind and took her in. Her mask was all white except for a tiny pink cherry blossom in the middle of the forehead, it had eye slits but no mouth. She looked the part of a silent assassin, efficient and deadly. The hairs on his arms pricked while he looked at her, silence becoming unnerving even for him. He coughed to break the tension he was feeling.  
“Hello” he greeted her with a smile in his voice, “I’m Kakashi Hatake and I’ll be the lead on this mission. Tsunade hasn’t told me much about your skills other than that you can hold your own. We’ll be meeting one more and then heading out.” She nodded and looked out over the rooftops waiting for their team member to show. Kakashi watched her, she didn’t look nervous or out of place, she stood with her posture indicating nothing of her emotions. Usually he was able to get a good read on a person but she was totally a blank slate to him. He was beginning to be mildly annoyed by it when Yamato landed next to them. “Sorry, am I late?” He asked, confused because he was usually never late.  
“Nope, we were just early.” Kakashi replied, “But now that we’re all here I’ll give the run down. The mission is simple and straight forward. It is entirely reconnaissance at this point, we are not to engage unless completely necessary. There is a cave about ten miles east of the village that a large amount of chakra is leaking out of, we are to attempt to scout inside this cave and locate the source of this chakra. So far, no enemies have been sighted but we are to be on alert. We are essentially going in there blind and have no idea what’s waiting.”  
“Understood.” He could always count on Yamato to be agreeable. He looked at her, she had turned and was watching them both but he couldn’t see her eyes with the shadow. She nodded again and turned to the east. Kakashi coughed again, “Sorry, this is Yamato, our other teammate for this mission.” He knew that Yamato knew even less than he did about their female team member, only that she had been part of Root, all other information wasn’t really necessary for him. She turned and looked back at the both of them. “We should head out before it starts raining again.” There was no emotion in her voice, but still held a softness underneath the authoritative statement. Yamato exchanged a glance with Kakashi and shrugged, she was apparently all business.  
“Right” Kakashi sighed and leapt from the roof toward the Eastern wall where they would cross to get to the cave. He could hear Yamato behind him to the right, landing softly with a slight creak to the branches as he pushed off with his chakra. She was to his left, he could feel her chakra, her control was flawless and she made even less noise than he did landing and pushing off, a silent assassin indeed. He hated to admit that she would probably be able to get a jump on him, which was something to say.  
The time passed quickly in the moonlight, she was correct about the weather too, he could feel the air changing around them, charging up for a larger storm. The earlier rain had been light but he could tell this storm would be a big one. He hoped they would make it to the cave entrance before it hit. Kakashi had mapped out the location but he didn’t recall there being caves in that particular area. He knew of a small camp that should be in the view of the opening and he wanted to rest there and watch.  
The wind was picking up around them as they found their location. A quick scan of the area showed they were alone. “We’ll set up camp here, I’d like to watch the entrance for activity before heading further in.” The trees were thick along the line and it would be easy enough to shelter there for the rest of the night. “Yamato, can you set up? Its too windy for tents tonight.” He nodded to Kakashi and started surveying the trees. She was above them both, crouched on a thin branch just taking in the situation. Kakashi knew she was watching them, he wondered if Yamato’s skill would be a shock to her or if she knew in detail all active ninja and their skills as part of her training.  
She certainly was curious, she’d heard rumor of a wood user but had never seen him in action. Danzo had been particularly short when Yamato was mentioned, she wasn’t taught to question aloud, so she’d kept them to herself, filed away in the back of her mind. She’d trained herself to separate the necessary from the rest and pushed everything else so far away that even the mental specialists wouldn’t be able to access that inner part of her mind. She watched intently as his hand glowed in front of the largest tree in the area. It started to expand slightly, and an opening appeared that they could easily crouch in to, and as she stared she realized it was hollowing out. She realized that Kakashi meant for them to rest inside the tree, and to the untrained or lazy eye, one could hardly tell anything had changed with it. Her stare at him was still blank under the mask, but she was impressed and curious what else he could do.  
“The storm is going to be a big one, I’ve hollowed out the entire tree and also made a place to stand watch safely from the top, there’s a clear view of the entrance but no need to get wet,” he smiled at the both of them. She nodded at them and started for the mentioned watch area, “I’ll take the first watch.”  
Kakashi watched her go and turned to Yamato, “Well, guess that’s that.” He hunched over and made his way inside the tree. A fire was out of the question as the smoke would attract attention, and it was too dark to read, so rest it was. Yamato followed him inside and moved some vines over their small entrance, shielding it from view even more. The trees were tall and with the wind howling around them he could easily talk to Yamato without worry that she would overhear them. “So, what do you think?” he asked.  
Yamato looked in his direction, barely making Kakashi out in the darkness. He’d removed the ANBU mask, pushed it to the side so he could take everything in. “I’m not sure, she’s pretty much what I’d expect coming out of Root. Full of conversation and a bubbling personality,” he chuckled as he made the sarcastic comment. Kakashi raised a silver eyebrow at him, “You don’t remember her at all?” he pressed. Yamato shook his head, “No, but I also left Root a long time ago, and she seems pretty young isn’t she? Do you recall seeing her before?” Kakashi leaded back, “No, the first time I saw her was during Danzo’s failed attempt to kill Tsunade.” Yamato’s eyes widened, “She was there?” He was visibly shocked. Kakashi nodded, “Yea, she’s the reason he failed.” He’d stated it as plainly as if he had stated it was storming outside and Yamato was speechless. This girl was part of Root, obviously an integral part if Kakashi had seen her with Danzo during the attack, but had been a part of his failure? “You gonna elaborate on that or just leave it there?”  
Kakashi looked up toward the spot he knew she was at even though he could barely make out the light coming in from the hole in the tree. He’d never forget that fight, or her, after that night. He knew he didn’t trust Danzo on the whole after his time in Root, or when he rescued Yamato from the man, but he never expected him to go that far. He’d been vying for the Hokage title after MInato had died and was obviously furious when he wasn’t chosen to take over. Kakashi had just never thought he’d go so far as to use assassination to get his way.  
When the attack began, it was utter chaos. It was midnight, clear, and the alarms sounded signaling an attack. He’d jumped into action, assuming it was an outside force, but soon saw the masks, confusion clouded his mind for a moment but he got his bearings and headed toward the Hokage tower faster than he thought was possible. The treachery of that man was unparalleled and he knew it was Danzo going after Tsunade. He’d summoned his dogs and sent them to find loyal ANBU as quickly as possible to meet him at the tower to aid him. When he’d burst through the window Danzo already had Tsunade cornered, Shizune was out cold behind him bleeding rather alarmingly from the side of her head. The man looked completely insane, his bandages had been removed and the sight was utterly horrifying. He had eyes covering his arm, all sharingan, including one in his head. Kakashi felt hot in the moment, what had he done to himself? What does this mean? The other ANBU were on their way, Pakkun had been quick, but he wasn’t sure what Danzo would be capable of any more.  
The man was laughing at Tsunade who was looking dazed at Shizune, he didn’t even seem to care that Kakashi was crouched in the window, with his victory seemingly so close. Kakashi was still analyzing his position in it all when she appeared behind Danzo, so quietly he almost didn’t even see her. Her mask had been cracked, half of it wasn’t even on her face anymore, her pink hair was wild around her head from all the activity. Danzo saw Kakashi flinch and looked to his side where she stood. He smiled, clearly pleased with her, “Ah, found your way here finally, are you ready to end this?”  
She looked up at him, her green eyes betraying nothing of her thoughts, and she nodded. “Good, I’ll inform the elders that there’s been an attack, be quick about it.” Her movement was so fast that had Kakashi not been watching with his sharingan, he would have missed it. The kunai she had in her hand sliced up with no hesitation, the severing an entirely complete movement, while her other hand shot forward into the chest cavity grasping the heart and yanking it entirely out of the body. As the arm fell, she turned and stuck the kunai straight through the sharingan that was staring at her in shock. Blood splattered all over her face, she was entirely covered in it. Danzo fell backward with the knife still sticking out of his skull. He hadn’t had time to make any noise and he was dead, killed by this girl that he trusted.  
She turned to Kakashi then, he’d stood up in alarm as she had killed Danzo, he was waiting for her to turn her attack on him. “The Hokage has been poisoned, she’s been drinking drugged sake for months,” she stated as she looked down at the heart she was still holding in her hand. “You should probably get someone to help her,” she gestured at Shizune as she dropped the heart onto Danzo’s corpse. The heart fell with a dull splat and slid onto the floor.  
Kakashi gave the signal and ANBU members came to his side. “Do you surrender?” He asked her, not wanting to make any sudden movements. “I do.” The girl unhooked her weapons pouch and tossed it at his feet, reaching behind her she removed her sword and dropped it in his direction as well. She took the other half of her mask off, her face underneath it untouched by the blood splatter making it look like she was still wearing a mask but on the other side. Medical ninja rushed into the room around them at Kakashi’s wave, he wasn’t sure why he trusted her when he’d just watched her kill Danzo in seconds, but he could tell she was done. “Do you know the poison that was used?” he asked her. “I do. I can make the antidote if you would take me to the hospital with her.” “How do I know I can trust you?” “You don’t. But if it makes you feel more comfortable you may put chakra suppressors on me while I work.” The bluntness of her response was slightly unnerving to him. “Shizune will be ready to assist me within the hour, if the Hokage does not take the antidote before sunrise her chakra will never be able to be activated again so you may want to make your decision quickly.” Kakashi was stunned, he’d never heard of a poison like that, but he didn’t doubt her words. He turned to the medical ninja in charge and nodded his acceptance of her story and they got to work.  
“And after the hospital I haven’t seen her since, until tonight. She’d helped Shizune to understand the poison and they made the antidote, Tsunade had been fine to make decisions at that point, and the girl was taken away for questioning.” He finished telling Yamato about that night, his friend starting up in her direction as he was done.  
“Well, that’s totally terrifying. I wonder how she got past the seal?” Kakashi frowned at his friends words, “I hadn’t even thought of that. “If she was in that tight with Danzo she must have had the seal, she shouldn’t have been able to turn on him which would explain his complete trust of her.” “Well, that is puzzling,” Kakashi mused at Yamato just as lightening lit up their tree. She landed next to them in the middle of the flash and they both leapt back in surprise.


	4. Chapter 4

The duffel bag of clothes seemed so light compared to the weight on her chest as she sat it down on her bed. _That’s all of it. One bag of clothes. That was what I shared with Sasuke in what I wanted to be our home. Pathetic._ She cringed at all her childhood dreams summed up in that bag. _When did I become so bitter?_ She looked at her dresser and saw the original team 7 photograph glinting in the light. Her long pink hair flowing and her smile so full of life and the promise of so much. Life was so much simpler then. She wanted to be an awesome ninja, just blow Sasuke away with all her knowledge and shinobi skills that she’d learn, and come back to the village and make Ino SO jealous that she had nabbed the guy.

  
_Tch. I never knew him. Not really. I knew the parts of him I wanted to know. I loved the idea of him, of what we could be. I loved a lie I had created in my mind._ She knew deep down that he would never be hers, never settle for that life, he hadn’t known it and didn’t really want it. His life was consumed by seeking power and revenge. _Were we even friends? Was I so self involved that I couldn’t even see? Yes, we were a team but that was our job, our life, and I was so stupid. Gah!_ She grabbed a pillow and screamed into it.

  
_I’ve spent nearly 20 years of my life obsessing about this future I wanted that I never sat down and really thought about what it meant to me. Who am I?_ She looked around the room and it looked clinically sterile, obviously no one had been living there for the last 8 years or so but all she had taken were clothes. She had a few photos on her dresser, a small jewelery box from her parents, and some framed certificates. There were books on her shelves but they were mostly all work related, large medical texts, research notebooks that she’d hastily stored there, but nothing to indicate that she had any hobbies. Her work WAS her life. She lived and breathed medical ninja. She’d slept at the hospital or the clinic more than she did at home the last five years of her life because it was easier to keep her mind occupied with work than it was to come home to an empty house and be a stranger in it and to herself.

  
_I haven’t been living, I’ve been a zombie. I came back from that war, winning, and just quit living._ The village had also changed a lot since the war. Since it was the longest peace the world had known, everyone was flourishing and technology had entered the world at breakneck speeds. She’d been most intrigued with the storage devices, computers, and phones. They no longer had to rely on foot mail or birds to carry messages. It was truly amazing the things that they had now. Sakura spent hours after her work day was done cataloging patient files into the hospitals new system just because she enjoyed it so much. _I need to get out more._

  
It was the weekend, Friday night, and she was here in her old home, reorganizing herself back to a new normal. _At least I’m not at the bar again drinking away my pain._ She scoffed at herself and how pathetic she had come. Her inner fire was all but gone and she needed more than anything to feel it burning again. Success had made her complacent and lazy. She was going to get that fire back…first thing tomorrow.

  
Coffee had never tasted so good. She sat at her, now spotlessly clean, kitchen table. The sunlight was streaming in through yellow curtains over her sink, and she sat with her coffee and a notebook. After having been gone for so long she had only pantry staples in the kitchen and she doubted even those were still good. The coffee shop down the road was still the best and she had missed it. So she sat with her favorite drink and the beginnings of a grocery list. Her phone buzzed again. It had done it off and on since last night when she had skipped Team 7 dinner, but she just couldn’t go and she wasn’t sure she wanted to admit to Naruto that she finally was moving on. Part of her was afraid that he would send word to Sasuke, that he would try to get him to come back, and she didn’t want that.

  
Sakura had laid in her bed, warm in her fresh blankets, and really examined her life. She’d come to the realization that she had built up that future in her head, built up Sasuke and created this man that never really existed. His past friendship with team 7, the times when he laughed and joked with them stuck out more than anything. She clung to the memories of that Sasuke, the rare moments when he seemed to forget his revenge, or his rivalry with Naruto, the times when he was just a boy. That Sasuke was the one she was in love with, all the possibilities of happiness, a normal life, and as far as she could tell he never actually existed outside her imagination. So she laid there and mourned that loss as if he had actually died, he hadn’t because someone who wasn’t real can’t die. She cried over him for the last time, it had to be, because she wanted to live now not just be alive.

  
_I should invite them all over for dinner on Sunday to make up for my missing out last night. I’ll just have to explain to Naruto that I’m moving on from a fantasy, he should know by now that it was all a lie. Sasuke may be a part of the village again, but he’ll never love me like I need and it isn’t fair to me to wait. Naruto would understand, he wants me to be happy, I’ll tell him not to bother Sasuke because who knows when he’s even coming back. Its not like I’m going to go out actively dating anyway, I want to find happiness on my own more than I want to find it with someone else. I can’t count on anyone else anyway._

  
She added extra portions to her grocery list and sipped the last of her coffee. She would enjoy her day off, go shopping, get some flowers, and maybe actually train. It had been too long since she worked out due to her life mostly revolving around the new medic training program she’d put together for the academy. _I wonder if Kakashi would like to spar with me?_ And with that, she put on her sandals and headed out with a smile on her face.

Kakashi groaned and rolled over _Why is it so bright? It’s too early for this, wait what?_ He looked over and realized he’d left his window entirely open. _Why did I do that? Oh, that’s right. I locked myself out again and came in through it super late. I really need to start leaving a spare key somewhere._ He pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat up, then stretched. The several loud cracks coming from his body caused him to stretch deeper taking full enjoyment in the feeling. He looked down at his phone when it chirped to life on the nightstand. The time stamp read too damn early. _Who is texting me at this hour?_ Sakura was asking if he would like to help her train in exchange for lunch. He flopped back on his bed again, stretching one last time in the warmth of his sheets and letting out a groan as the sun hit his face again. The phone still in one hand he used his other to wipe away the sleep that was in his eyes before focusing on his reply. Of course he would help her train, it had been a couple years since they sparred on the field and he was fairly sure that she hadn’t had much time outside of her office in those years either.

He worked out every day and a smirk crept on his face as he thought of how irritated she’d look when he wiped the grounds with her. Time had not done much to tame that temper of hers. Their conversation the other night seemed to have lit a fire under her and he was grateful that she had chosen action rather than dwelling. She’d skipped their team dinner which had given Naruto concern. Kakashi played it off, saying that she’d mentioned being tired from work with a particularly difficult class. He knew she’d gone to the compound for the rest of her things and didn’t blame her at all for wanting to take a day for herself.

Hatake: Meet me at training ground 4 in an hour

Haruno: Thanks so much! See you there!

Kakashi stood up, threw his phone back down on the bed and wiped his face again. He sighed, _time to shave again._ But first, like any normal adult, coffee. Walking to his kitchen he pulled out his kettle, filled it with water and sat it down to boil. He opened the coffee container and inhaled, just the smell of the grounds gave him life. Measuring out the coffee into his press he impatiently tapped the counter waiting for his water to boil. He was antsy. Frowning at his own fidgeting he sat the press to the side with its water and went to shave while it steeped.

He stood in his bathroom staring at his reflection in the mirror. His two grey eyes stared back at him. After ten years, it still caught him off guard at times that he no longer had the sharingan. Blinking, he wiped the steam off the mirror and shook the thoughts out of his head. He was vain. He kept up this appearance that he was aloof, casual and relaxed, when in reality he was far from it. The mask helped with this, only his eyes would portray his emotions and he preferred it like that. He knew as a child he had been overly expressive, showed every little hurt or moment of joy, and as a shinobi he couldn’t. He had to be hard, emotionless, tactical, and the mask made him feel safe in that illusion he brought forth.

He knew he was an attractive man, he also knew he was aging well enough. He trained daily, kept up his skills as much as his body. Everyone thought he was lazy, laying around in the shade reading, showing up late, but he never really let anyone close enough to know how he actually spent his days. At this point, he wasn’t sure he even knew how to be truly close to another person, to let them into his life rather than keep them at arms length. He went out to Naruto’s, laughed and kept up appearances there, he made sure to hang out with Guy a couple times a week, and showed up in the staff lounge at the academy to occasionally eat lunch. It was all superficial though, he never invited anyone into his home, or into his life more than that.

Pondering his situation with Sakura made him wonder what he did want out of his life. He felt like he hadn’t really done things right, he knew he gave into depression when he was younger and mostly had given up having a life outside of being a ninja. He knew he didn’t want her to give up on life, watching her made his chest ache because he hadn’t had someone on the outside watching him that cared enough. He wouldn’t stand by for her, couldn’t, knowing how it felt to be left alone.

Pouring his coffee into a travel mug he checked the time on his phone. He had about half an hour before he was supposed to meet her. It was the perfect amount of time to drink his coffee and finish the last chapter of his book. He smiled, adjusted his mask, and then vanished out of his living room.

Sakura hurried into her home, her arms taken up by a ridiculous number of shopping bags. She had 20 minutes before she had to be at the training grounds and she still had all these groceries to put away. She’d gone a little nuts at the market, but she justified it by having to restock her entire home. She splurged and got all of her favorites, things to bake, dinner for the team, the fancy coffee, and completely unnecessary soaps. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken the time to take a bath, relax, actually style her hair rather than just throw it back.

Being comfortable in her life, waking up and going through the motions, had essentially killed her. She didn’t know who she was anymore, but that was going to change. Sakura planned to start training again, push herself to continue learning and growing. She was in charge of this new medic training program that was entirely her idea and she was barely doing anything with it. She didn’t want to be a teacher in the background, she wanted to be hands on with those students in the program. Tsunade would more than understand that she should change her schedule to accommodate more time at the academy, she just needed to meet with her and finalize her new plans.

Satisfied with how her grocery haul looked in her kitchen she grabbed a bottle of water and ran out the door.

Haruno: I’m on my way now, you better not be late!

Kakashi looked down at his phone and laughed at her text. He was already on the grounds concealed in a tree with a clear view of where she would be coming in. He tugged his mask down and finished the last of his coffee.

Hatake: Already here, looks like you’re the late one!

A lopsided smirk fixed itself on his face as he imagined her sputtering at his reply. He stood up, tucked his mug into a crevice in the tree, and pulled his mask back up into place. His chakra was already being masked, let the training begin.

She burst through the gate, her hair flying around her face as she looked around. Squinting her eyes she took a breath and calmed herself down. This was Kakashi she was training with, of course he would do something like this just to throw her off. Throwing her water bottle toward the gate she calmly walked into the middle of the field. She couldn’t sense him at all, which was a given, so she waited for him to make a move.

The kunai came at the back of her head at an alarming speed, she smiled and had already moved into a front flip, flicking one of her own where it had come from. Landing in a crouch, she heard hers hit, a substitution as usual. _I am always amazed by how many other ninja are fooled by that jutsu, especially from the freakin copy ninja._ But, she wasn’t fooled and had already sent several more kunai into the woods where she sensed a flicker of his chakra. She’d trained enough to know what to look for and his chakra always spiked in a small burst when he used a substitute.

His clone poof’d out of existence as one of her kunai hit home, the real Kakashi raised his eyebrows in appreciation of her skill. _She’s not messing around, maybe I shouldn’t anymore either._ He summoned three more clones, he’d found that now he no longer was expending so much chakra containing his sharingan he had a lot more to work with. She hadn’t trained with him in a long time though and wouldn’t be aware of this difference.

Sakura still stood in the middle of the field, eyes on the tree line waiting for him to make a move. He came at her from three directions, clones surely involved, but all three Kakashi had chidori crackling in their hands running at top speed toward her. Raising her hand up she channeled chakra into her arm, strengthening her fist and plowed it into the ground at her feet. Her other hand made a sign and when the earth cracked around her the rock shot up in sharp spikes radiating out. All three clones were defeated in an instant. She smirked, he obviously had some new moves, but she also had some tricks up her sleeve.

“Come out and play, Kakashi! Its no fun beating your clones so easily!” she yelled at the trees where she could feel him watching her.

He laughed in response, “How about we test your hands on skills, no chakra? Let’s see if you can hit me,” he teased.

She squinted at him and wiped the sweat off her upper lip. A pink eyebrow raised in response and she started pulling her hair back into a pony tail to get it out of her face. If he was going to challenge her, she’d respond and show him how much she had improved her speed. He jumped down from the tree and slowly walked up to her letting her finish putting her hair up. Coming up about ten feet from her he stopped, “First blood and we stop, I know you haven’t trained with a partner in a while but I’m not going to go easy, no chakra and no weapons.” She nodded and put her fists in front of her face, “Bring it old man.”

“You’re really gonna say that to me?,” he smirked under his mask and shook his head, “No respect, I see how its gonna be.”

He crouched and lunged at her, fist ready for an uppercut to her ribs. She dodged out of his way and brought her fist down, it also missed its mark. His hand blocked her punch, they spun around each other, fists flying, dodging, blocking. They were both breathing heavy after their dance around one another. He brought up a leg and connected with her arms that were blocking her face. Her hand flicked down and grabbed his ankle, using her momentum she yanked it down and kicked her own leg up. He was caught off balance and she landed the hit hard to the side of his head. She still had his leg in her hand, completed her kick, and he was down.

Sakura was slightly stunned she’d managed to land it and just stood staring at him a moment. “Oh, shit! Are you ok?,” she asked while throwing herself down by his head when he didn’t immediately move. “I think you broke my jaw,” he mumbled just staring up at her. Her hands were already glowing green and sending her chakra into his face. “Its just a fracture, but I think I did break your nose,” she smiled shyly down at him. “Don’t talk, I’ll have your face fixed in a second,” she shushed him. He inhaled and closed his eyes letting her undo the damage she’d inflicted.

Less than five minutes later and he was sitting up watching her walk to the gate for her water, his face was back to normal, not even a bruise was left. When she turned back he noticed her knees were caked in dirt and blood, her hair was stuck to the back of her neck from the sweat they both worked up, and her eyes were brighter than they had been in years. She stopped in front of him holding out her water, “Here, you can have the rest.”

“You did amazing, Sakura, really. For not having been training regularly, you haven’t lost any skill. Tsunade really brought out the best in you,” he said as he looked up at her and took the water. “Next time we’ll fight some clones together, see how your team skills check out.” She smiled down at him, “Oh, you didn’t get enough of me kicking your ass one on one, you want me to kick more of your clones to the dirt too?” He laughed, “Yup, we’ll kick my ass together.”

She brought her phone out of her pack and looked at the time, she was starving. “How about we go get cleaned up and you can meet me at my place in about 45 minutes for lunch? Its the least I can do for you letting me beat you up.”

Holding a hand out at her, his eyes crinkled, “I didn’t let you do anything, it was all you. And yes, that sounds fine.” She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand pulling him to stand next to her. “Yea ok Kakashi.”

“No, Sakura. You need to stop doubting yourself and your skills. I realize you’ve grown up into an amazingly accomplished shinobi and woman, when we train together its as equals. You’re not that little girl being left behind by your teammates anymore, embrace it. With a little more training, you’re at the point you will surpass Tsunade, and I will help you in whatever way I can.”

She blushed at his words but was entirely speechless. It was hard to see herself as an equal to people she had looked up to her entire life. She felt herself start to tear up and just nodded at him looking away, “I’ll see you in a bit, thank you,” she said quietly and started off toward her apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

Tsunade tapped her nails on her desk while she glared at the man standing in front of her. “So. You’re telling me that you went off on your own and experimented with your eye and just happened to come across a realm that shows you all possible worlds?” She was staring at Sasuke in a way that made him squirm uncomfortably. He wasn’t nervous when he went into her office, but the more he talked the more he realized that the situation was incredibly bad. And so, Sasuke, a grown ass man and accomplished ninja paled before her rage because he knew he deserved it. “I don’t know what I expected when I agreed to let you leave, but it sure as hell wasn’t this. This is beyond anything I could have thought up which is actually impressive because I ran through a lot of things. You do realize this is bad, right?” She shook her head muttering to herself about being too sober to be putting up with his shit this early in the morning, the fact that it was already noon was moot to her anger.

He coughed, “I’d like to put Team 7 back together, with Yamato and Sai as well, and go back into the realm. I’ve got most of a plan put together but I need their help watching a couple of the worlds.” He knew it was a long shot that she’d agree to let them go, but he had thought more about it and the best course of action would be inaction and surveillance. There were multiple worlds, multiple instances of themselves, and if he picked the right ones he knew he would have a completely unbeatable team.

She stopped pacing and cut her eyes toward him, “We need to keep a constant watch over the world Zetsu went into. I want to know what he is doing at all times. We barely won against Kaguya and I don’t want to go through that again. But. I also feel as though YOU need to fix this and so you will.”

“I left a clone there watching, I’m not stupid. I’m just not entirely sure how that world works but I DO know you need to have the rinnegan awakened to port between the worlds, more passengers can go with, but the eye is the key. However, I’m not sure if I would be able to teach any other Uchiha members to do this, it seems related to what Naruto and I went through with the Sage of Six Paths.” He was talking quickly to cover his guilty conscious. Even though he hadn’t watched the other worlds all that much, the idea that things could have been different had started to change him. His usual ability to mask his emotions and hide his thoughts seemed lacking, he felt vulnerable and while he didn’t like the feeling, he did want to explore it. His past mistakes had taught him that just blindly charging in a direction he had decided was right, without considering others, was probably not the best action.

Tsunade considered what he said, “If you can leave a clone in there then it would make sense to notify Naruto at once, he can leave clones on all the portals to watch and report back in 12 hour intervals. I will brief the rest of the team that they’ll need to be on standby when we have a more stable plan in place to make contact. You’re dismissed.”

Sasuke shut the door behind him but not quickly enough to not hear her curse and slam her fist into her desk. He sighed, the stress hitting him all at once now that he had faced her with the news. It didn’t go that poorly which pleased him, he was in tact and his plan was well received by her. He knew that the others would go along with it as long as the Hokage had signed off on it. Now all that was left was to find Naruto and tell him what had happened.

Walking out of the tower he blinked and looked around trying to decide where to go first. It was lunch time so he’d bet that Naruto would be eating, most probably at a certain ramen stand. Sasuke smiled to himself and headed in the direction of Ichiraku to find his friend.

Naruto sat on his usual stool at Ichiraku slurping up his third bowl of ramen. He’d been working on learning more protocol all morning and was more than ready to enjoy this break. Tsunade was going to be handing over the Hokage title in the next year and he felt nervous but ready for his dream to come true. The thought of no longer going on missions did eat at him, he enjoyed the thrill and the feeling of accomplishment when it was completed. He knew though that his natural talent for gaining trust and friendship was much needed among the villages.

He was lost in thought when Sasuke sat down next to him quietly, “I thought I’d find you here.” “Dude! When did you get back?!” Naruto was boisterous as ever giving Sasuke a tight hug and practically vibrating in happiness at his best friends return. “I went to see Tsunade first thing this morning, we have a mission.” Sasuke was straight to the point and serious. Naruto frowned, “Oh, we huh? Gonna finally share in what you’ve been doing?” Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him, “Something happened. And. I need everyone to help fix it.” Naruto became serious at this, Sasuke was not usually one to ask for help or allude to something being his fault, which is what Naruto mostly gathered from his short non explanation. “Help, huh? And something happened. Was this something your fault?” He smiled to ease his accusation and hopefully not irritate his friend. 

“Yes,” Sasuke answered simply, the time for lies was over and he would own up to his mistakes. “However, here is not the place to discuss what may or may not have happened, let’s go take a walk. Tsunade should be briefing everyone else but you have a special mission with your favorite jutsu.” He stood up and walked out of the stand to wait for Naruto to pay for his meals.

They walked for a while in silence, but Naruto finally couldn’t take the quiet and started bugging Sasuke with questions. It had been over a year since he was last in the village and Naruto just couldn’t help himself from prying. “Have you talked to Sakura yet? You know she’s heading a huge program at the academy training an entire branch of new medical ninja.” Naruto was so proud of Sakura and all that she had done in the last ten years and he absolutely hated that Sasuke continued to lead her on. He hated more that she let him and never stood up for herself and her needs. “No, I haven’t seen her, I went straight to the Hokage and then you. This is actually pressing you know.” Naruto frowned at him. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing her later, I asked that we have the entirety of Team 7 for this, Yamato and Sai included.” Naruto’s eyes widened at this news, it really was a day to remember, Sasuke admitted he made a mistake AND now ALL of Team 7. He was starting to worry about what the hell Sasuke had actually done at this point.

They’d walked out of the village by the time Sasuke stopped and turned to face Naruto. “So, you know when I left the village I said I wanted to redeem myself and feel like I earned the right to rebuild my clan?” Naruto nodded. “Well, I went looking for more information about Kaguya and exactly how she got her power. I refuse to believe she was actually a God and I think I’m right in that with what I’ve seen. But, to get to the point, I unlocked sage mode on my rinnegan and I can travel between worlds.” He said the last bit rather quickly and Naruto stood staring at him with his mouth open. “Wait, what?” He should have known better than to just spring it on Naruto but he’d hoped the idiot had gotten a little quicker in his training to be Hokage. “OK. I found a new Sage mode, well I’m not sure its new, its more like the Sage mode from the Sage of Six Paths. I don’t think its entirely THAT powerful, but its in that direction. I wanted to see what I could do with the rinnegan because Kaguya could travel in her realms and I was curious.” At this Naruto frowned, “You know what curiosity killed, right?” Sauske sighed, “Well, either way, I found this realm I could travel to and its full of portals to all these other worlds like ours but different, like other possible worlds I guess, I’m not really sure yet.”

Naruto was pretty shocked, “What do you mean possible worlds?” “I mean, for instance what would have happened if we hadn’t won the war against Kaguya,” Sasuke was having a harder time describing things that he thought he would. “What?” “I didn’t know what the place was when I first entered it and I went into a random portal, in that world, we lost.” Naruto was becoming more concerned with everything he was hearing, “What do you mean we lost?” “Naruto, it was awful. The tree was there, I could see all the pods, the chakra pulsing off it was terrible and there were no people, I could sense no one else.”

“How do you know it was us?” Naruto asked softly. “I stepped on a headband, it was buried in the sand, everything was a wasteland.” “That’s terrifying.” “It was, but when I said I could sense no one else, I kind of made a mistake.” Naruto looked at him, “What do you mean a mistake?” “Black Zetsu was there and he followed me back to the main portal area. He didn’t know who I was and he jumped into a random portal to get away from me.”

“What the actual Fuck, Sasuke?! How could you let that happen?” Naruto was upset, obviously. “Yea, dude, I fucking get it ok! It was stupid and I was overconfident and confused. I shouldn’t have gone into any of the portals but I did and now its fucked. I looked for the asshole and he was hanging out in a cave not doing anything yet.” Naruto shook his head, “I can’t believe you’ve done this.” “Believe it,” Sasuke deadpanned. Naruto gave him a look in response that clearly said really and rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, you can watch the portals and kind of concentrate on someone to watch them, and that’s where you come in. I left a clone watching his ass but you’re better at clones than I am.” Naruto raised a brow at the compliment, Sasuke never complimented anyone. “Well, yea I am, so you need me to watch him?” “Him and more. I don’t know what he’s up to but we can assume it won’t be good. And we can probably safely assume he will go for Kaguya or any of the powerful ninja he can get his hands on. He won’t be able to leave the realm and I’m fairly sure that my rinnegan is unique because of what we went through with Hagoromo. So I want you to watch us but in other realms and figure out which ones of us are going to be best suited to taking their asses down and restoring order. Simple and easy.” 

“Simple AND easy?! That sounds nearly impossible. What would you do if you walked up to you and said all that shit?” “Well, that’s why we watch. We watch and we wait. He won’t be taking over the world in two weeks, we have time to do this right.” Naruto sighed, “Ok, how do we get to this portal realm?” “Well, I will port us there but I don’t want to do it out in the open. There are some caves not too far, when I came back that’s where I came in so I’d like to use it as the base of operations.” Naruto nodded at him, “Alright, let’s go.”

They took to the trees, Naruto following behind Sasuke lost in thought. Kaguya was a problem they had thought was gone, and now everything threatened to crash down on their heads all over again. The village had done so well in the last ten years with rebuilding and on relations with neighboring countries. He was angry that Sasuke had brought all this back on them. He was mad that Sasuke couldn’t just live with what he had, settle down with Sakura and work on living his life for once. Even if he wasn’t with her, Naruto just didn’t understand why Sasuke essentially kept turning his back from the village. He wished more than anything that he could get through to his friend and show him the life he could have if he just stayed.

The trees started thinning the closer they got to the caves. Sasuke turned toward Naruto, “I’m not sure how this is going to feel for you. Zetsu seemed fine going through with me, and I didn’t find it much different from when we traveled through Kaguya’s portals really, so you shouldn’t have a problem.” He watched Naruto struggle with hiding his emotions, he knew his friend was upset with him but the only thing he could do was fix the problem he caused. He knew Naruto wanted him to stay, and maybe when this was all done he would. His thoughts drifted back to the world he had seen with the Uchiha clan thriving, and how he felt when he saw that Sakura had moved out. He sighed as they walked into the cave together, he didn’t have time to worry about those things currently.

Once they were far enough in that it was hard to see Sasuke stopped, “You ready?” “I guess, we have a lot of work to do.” Sasuke put his had on Naruto’s shoulder and the world tipped sideways into complete darkness. It was different traveling with another person which he hadn’t expected. Zetsu wasn’t really a person and he hadn’t really noticed him tagging along. He also was solely concentrating on following Sasuke unseen which made it easier. Naruto was thinking a million thoughts and Sasuke had to concentrate more to get them to the possibility portal realm. He made a note to remind Naruto to clear his thoughts before they traveled again, but otherwise they made it through.

Naruto was wide eyed at all the portals shimmering around him. There were hundreds, the realm didn’t seem to end in any direction he looked. “This is amazing.” He was in awe that Sasuke had discovered this and he completely understood why his friend had gone into a portal without thinking it through. He itched to try one out. “Have you looked and narrowed down any to watch specifically or are we doing that now?” Sasuke looked around frowning, “This isn’t where I left him, let’s see if we can find my clone and go from there.” They walked for another ten minutes before they even sensed Sasuke’s clone which was bizarre to think. They’d need to come up with a way to map the portals out, Sasuke figured maybe Sai would be good for that and made another mental note to bring it up when the group was together again.

The clone finally came into sight peering intently into the shimmering portal in front of it. “Has he changed position?” Sasuke asking as they walked up. “No, he’s still sitting in that cave. I’ve scanned the area and it looks like the same cave the husk was kept in when it was in our world, however it doesn’t appear to be active in this one.” Sasuke nodded and released the clone. “Ok, you’ll need a clone for this portal and probably ten others to scout and find out what we can about some of the other worlds in this close area. I have a feeling the possibilities are actually endless and therefore scouting them all would be impossible. Once you are, or rather the clone is standing in front of the portal all that needs to be done is to concentrate on the person you want to watch, at least that’s what I did.” Naruto nodded as he went through the signs for his shadow clones. Twelve Naruto’s poofed into existence around him all sharing the same awed expression. Sasuke cocked his head, “Why twelve?” “I’d like to look into that world you went to first, the one Black Zetsu left, try and see what Kaguya is doing there.” “Oh, good idea,” Sasuke said surprised. “Don’t sound so shocked asshole, I AM basically the Hokage now,” Naruto smirked at him.

“Yea yea, you’ll always be that little idiot that couldn’t keep up with me though,” Sasuke joked. Naruto gaped at him, “Are you sure you’re our Sasuke? Because he doesn’t have a sense of humor and you let me hug you earlier.” Sasuke looked at him, “It’s me. I just, I looked into other portals before I left here and its given me a lot to consider.” He shrugged, “But, right now, your clones need to go to that portal over there, its the one he came from, and this one. Then just spread out and see what you can see. I’d suggest looking for Team 7 members first and then branching out. I think time goes differently in them as well so we could be older or younger, or not there at all. I’m not sure, but this is surveillance right now.

“We need to construct a beacon maybe? If you don’t port us back to this spot it could be hard to find,” Naruto suggested. Sasuke considered the suggestion. “Yea, maybe I can make another clone to pulse some lightening up every thirty minutes or so, like a flare.” Naruto nodded in agreement and started to wander around peering in the portals he was close to. “What do you think he’s up to?” “No idea. But he’s stuck, so we have that going for us. He’ll find a way to her eventually though. We are younger in that world, it seems similar though. I’m worried about how we will go about convincing everyone we aren’t crazy or an enemy.”

He cut off his next thought because he felt chakra spiking from another portal to his right. Naruto turned when he felt it too, “What’s going on? I thought only you could travel?” The portal became opaque and they saw an arm reaching through. Both assumed a defensive stance as it withdrew being replaced by a body. Their eyes went wide at the sight of her but neither man dropped guard. She was looking in the other direction when she jumped out of the portal but quickly drew the sword from her back and turned to face them.

Her eyes widened and she cursed herself for dropping her mask, she felt naked without it. When her sight had adjusted to the darkness she frowned and stood up, “How are you here? I killed you.” She was staring at Sasuke as she spoke. Naruto stood up and looked from her to Sasuke and back to her, “Sakura?”


End file.
